North Brewing Co: Leeds-based brewer which fell into administration last year bought out by Black Sheep owner
The owner of Yorkshire-based Black Sheep Brewery has announced that it has acquired the brands of fellow Yorkshire firm, North Brewing Co, after the company was saved from administration last year.
Keystone Brewing Group, the new owner of North Brewing Co’s brands, said that the deal would not lead to job losses at North’s Springwell brewery, which will continue with brewing and packaging.
The firm said that the deal would see North Brewing’s brands join the Keystone portfolio, which includes Masham-based Black Sheep Brewery, Purity Brewing Co,and Brew by Numbers.
Mark Williams, CEO of Keystone Brewing Group, said: “We are delighted the North Brewing brand, and beers will join the Keystone family. It is a true icon with a compelling reputation for innovation and high-quality beers, and we see enormous potential to build on its success to date, growing it nationally while preserving its original Yorkshire identity.
“These are exciting times for Keystone, and we’re not finished yet”
The move comes after North Brewing Co was last year saved from administration by Vertical Drinks LTD, a firm run by Steve Holt, director of Kirkstall Brewery.
Announced in January of last year, the pre-pack administration deal saw North Brewing Co continue to operate from its Springwell brewing site, and “safeguarded” the future of its North Taproom bars in Leeds and Manchester.
The deal did not include the North Taproom site in Birmingham, which at the time closed, leading to 15 redundancies.
The Leeds taproom will be retained by Vertical as part of the latest deal, while the Manchester Tap room is run by a different company, owned by the former directors of North
At the time of appointing administrators last year, North Brewing Co said that Covid-19, had a “materially adverse” impact upon is financial performance, and that Government restrictions had forced the business to close for extended periods of time between 2020 and 2022.
The company also cited rising costs in energy, labour and raw materials as reasons for its administration.
Mr Holt will now serve as a special advisor to the Keystone Group.
In a statement shared by Keystone, Mr Holt said he was “pleased” to pass on ownership of the North brands to Keystone.
He added: “They have the sales and marketing resources to expand distribution and accelerate the brand’s growth. I am also delighted that Springwell will continue to brew and package the North beers”.
Keystone’s latest acquisition comes after the firm last week announced that it had bought beer brands Magic Rock and Fourpure.
Keystone said that it had managed to “secure the future” of the brands, which had both fallen into financial difficulty in recent months. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.
The firm acquired Masham-based Black Sheep Brewery in May 2023 through a pre-pack administration for around £5m. Black Sheep said at the time that it had been hit by a “perfect storm” of low sales during the pandemic and rapidly rising costs from inflation.
The string of acquisitions comes as part of an ongoing effort by Keystone to become a £100m-a-year revenue business by 2028.
Details of the latest deal with North Brewing Co were not disclosed.